But what if we have to learn about something that we are scared of, or uncomfortable with?
I went through this when I had to take four semesters of French. I am going through it again as I am learning about the digital humanities. In both cases, I am thrown into a language that I am unfamiliar with, and I have to do my best to make my way through it.
This is all a sort of introduction to the video below. I have an obsession with TED Talks and I watch them quite often. In this particular talk, Tim Ferriss describes this same idea about learning something that is in unfamiliar territory. (There is some cursing from 11:45-11:50--just as a warning if that bothers you.)
He uses examples of how he learned how to swim, speak foreign languages, and ballroom dance to show that the learning process is more important than the actual product, and he mentions how in the process of learning, you should strive for being effective instead of efficient. This will immerse you deeper into what you are learning and you will come out on top. Understand the basics first, and then you will have a solid foundation for building something strong. "Fear is your friend" because it gives us a purpose in learning. When we are learning about something that we are uncomfortable with, it will automatically make us start with the basics. What do you think about learning? Should we stretch ourselves into the things that we fear, or should we continue in the things with which we already a solid foundation? What good does it do to stretch ourselves in that way?
I find the tie ins and you discover between Moby Dick and Digital Culture so insightful.
ReplyDeleteI guess in response to your question, you never learn anything if you don't stretch yourself. I think people have a tendency to get very comfortable with one thing and they allow themselves to rest there, but if we will only keep reaching a little farther a lot of times we will realize that we are capable of so much more than we thought we were.
I liked the Lockian philosophy you threw in even if I don't entirely agree with it. But I do believe stretching yourself--exploring difficult terrain--is the only way to move forward. It is very much an LDS concept. But it is also a human concept. We can play it safe and never experience new things, or we can stretch, reach out as it were for something new, and perhaps needed. We don't learn a new instrument without first stumbling and painfully creating new muscle memory pathways. This reminds me of a devotional Condaleza Rice gave a few years ago (was it?). She talked about how someone good at English should take a lot of math classes, and vice versa. However I still didn't do that...because it is hard to stretch yourself, which is why it is so rewarding when you do and are effective i suppose.
ReplyDeleteDigital culture requires constant learning just to stay afloat. But it also provides tools and perspectives (and motivations) for developing lifelong learning -- which is one of the main aims of education (at least at BYU). Interestingly, much of the way in which education is promoted through digital culture is by promoting non-institutional learning. This is the age of self-learners.
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